Yes, Outlander can occasionally be a bit much for those not already enamored of its romance-novel leanings. (I plead guilty.) But for those open to textured historical sweep and/or time travel what-ifs (guilty on both counts), it's easy to lose yourself in this gritty production's pungent sense of place, character and dilemma.

Fans will be pleased, though they shouldn't be too surprised by the major plot development Sunday--it's obvious by half.

It's silly, ridiculous, fun, outrageous and absurd. Plus, there's Brad.

This is one crazy-paced show, and one smartly crafted comedy.

Entertaining newcomer full of energy, passion and baloney--the ideal summer diversion.

Easily one of fall's better new comedies, but don't expect to be blown away yet. The pilot offers just a taste of what's to come, which is plenty good enough.

Modern Family is good. Better than good. Really good. O'Neil--dry and wonderful as ever--and Vergara (considerably less dry) are a winning combination.

You have plain old smashmouth elemental TV story devices--good guys, bad guys, evil corporations, a family unit, and a headlong rush toward the Truth, whatever that may be. Plus this special bonus: Intimations of Jack Bauer.

Silly, gross, soapy, mysterious, intriguing, exotic, erotic True Blood is fun. Even more fun this season.

Yet, for all its jam-packed insanity, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend can be one of the tube’s most perceptive and moving shows.

The cast is good, even excellent. But Perry's the one who sells Go On.

Linc’s still tough and impulsive. Michael still has that lonely middle-distance stare. Tuesday’s opener suggests there’s plenty of action ahead, some real-world parallels, and a shaggy dog that could lead us to an interesting place. Hopefully that place will finally be closure.

McKinley and its denizens feel just a little too cliched, the emerging romantic entanglements a little too forced, the female characters--notably Terri and Sue Sylvester--just a little too mean-spirited. Still, it's a great cast.

White Collar is not original. But White Collar is enjoyable.

The real pleasure of this series is watching them peel away the layers to this particular onion, often on long car drives across a vast, wet, undifferentiated Louisiana landscape.... The real problem with True Detective are those flash-forwards to the present day: Younger Cohle, at least, is interesting. The older version is gaseous and his maunderings often stop the show cold.

Fun, colorful, lively--but is there a real show here, or just a good joke?

The actors hit that soap sweet-spot between honest reality and lurid theatricality under direction from pros like Michael Apted and Catherine Hardwicke.

The parsing of detail is effective because by the end of Monday's pilot, I was surprised by an unexpected reaction: I actually wanted to know what happens next week.

Trade press has labeled this "'Easy Rider' Meets 'The Sopranos,'" which seems apt. Show comes from Kurt Sutter, longtime co-executive producer of "The Shield" (and married to Sagal) so that should give you a sense of tone and texture - violent, taut, well written.

While neither dialogue nor sitcom tropes could be called fresh, the pilot plays solid, relying on able actors to score under tight direction (James Widdoes).

Marred by the usual hospital prime-time melodramatics, Pure Genius is still a compelling idea matched to a superior cast.

The well-written pilot has a couple of brazenly vulgar sight gags, but nothing that will shock "Two and a Half Men" fans.

Some wild twists, but you've seen a variation before on one of them. Nevertheless, the Patty Hewes story is almost over, and in Close's hands, it's still compulsively watchable.

Will this be a good season? Undoubtedly, yes, and blood will be spilled. But if this opener is any indication, there's not enough fake blood in Hollywood to sate the fifth.

At times, Luke Cage feels like a series in search of a story, or a series intent on drawing one out, scene by chatty scene, over 13 episodes. (Six were available for review; I watched the first two, sampled the rest.) A cast this good, especially a Luke Cage this good, should compensate.

OK, caution dispensed, tonight's episode is a good start. But wait till the baby comes.

Nesbitt forcibly conveys the sense of a man who can't stop moving, even to sleep, until he finds his son. At least in the first hour--sorry, the only one I sampled--this feels like the kind of performance that just bought Starz a winner.

A good--OK, often very good--comedy that’s a little too much like “Silicon Valley.”